Kendrick’s POV
The air inside the villa basent was cold enough to sting my lungs. My boots echoed across the concrete as I moved ahead of Mason and Kelvin, each step heavier than the last. I didn’t know what I was expecting to find down here, but it definitely wasn’t going to be sothing good as Zain had called it a surprise.
A strong tallic sll hit first, and when I got close enough, I saw the figure of soone on the floor.
The retired special forces soldier Gary had hired now laid sprawled on the dirty floor like a discarded object.
Blood pooled around his head and soaked into his shirt, the deep crimson almost black under the dim single bulb hanging from the ceiling. His eyes were still open but there was no sign of life in them.
Kelvin cursed under his breath, Mason’s jaw clenched so tight I could see a vein pulsing from his temple.
I stepped closer and crouched beside the body. His face was bruised, lips busted and nose broken. They didn’t just kill him, but severely tortured him instead.
My anger only multiplied at this instant and I looked back at Mason with a frown.
"Damn it..." Kelvin muttered. "He was just trying to help."
"He didn’t deserve this," Mason added, voice low.
"No," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. "He didn’t."
I reached out and gently closed the man’s eyes as it was the least I could do.
For a mont, none of us spoke, not because we didn’t have anything to say, but because anger had locked itself inside our throats. This wasn’t just murder, this was Curtis mocking us. Telling us he was always one step ahead but I refused to let him stay ahead for long.
"Let’s get out of here," I finally said. "There is nothing else in this basent."
We walked up the stairs together, everyone outside was already returning to formation, ready to clear the rest of the villa before pulling back. I could feel the frustration radiating off Kelvin like heat from a fire. His breathing was loud and uneven, too angry for him to control. Then suddenly.... he snapped.
Kelvin slamd his fist into the wall beside him with a loud crack that echoed through the entire hallway.
"Damn it! They were fucking here! They were here and we missed them again!" he yelled, punching the wall a second ti.
But this ti, sothing strange happened.
The wall... shifted.
A loud rumbling sound followed, like stone sliding over stone. Dust fell from the edges as an entire section of the wall slowly opened inward, revealing a dark, narrow stairway leading down into a hidden area beneath the villa.
The three of us froze.
"What the hell?" Mason muttered, walking toward it.
Kelvin blinked at the newly opened passageway, his fist still pressed to the cracked surface. "I didn’t... I didn’t an to open anything."
"You just found their hideout," I said, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. "This is where they have been staying, they were never in the villa."
The lights inside the villa suddenly flickered, and every officer turned toward us.
"They are underground," Mason muttered. "Curtis must have built an entire system beneath the villa."
I didn’t wait another second.
"Everyone! Move in now!" I ordered.
Guns were drawn, boots thundered across floors, and officers ford into clean tactical formation behind us. Kelvin grabbed a flashlight and pointed it down the dark stairway.
I inhaled and stepped into the darkness first.
The air grew colder as we descended. The walls changed from concrete to smooth stone, and faint lights lit up along the corridor on motion sensors as we reached the bottom.
Then I saw a massive underground living space, fully furnished and luxurious. There were couches, tables, a small kitchenette and multiple doors leading into other rooms. It was like an entire house had been built beneath the earth.
And right there, standing near the center were Curtis, Zain, Piper... and Christy tied to a chair.
Her hands were bound, her face pale, hair ssy and eyes swollen from crying, but she was alive.
Alive.... That was the most important thing.
Christy saw and her breath hitched. She didn’t speak but the relief in her eyes nearly brought to my knees.
But Curtis and the others saw too.
"Attack!" he yelled and the room erupted into gunfire.
Shots rang out, bullets ricocheting off tal and stone. The officers behind us ducked, returning fire. Mason dragged Kelvin back as bullets tore past us.
Piper tried running to the right, firing wildly, while Zain grabbed a rifle and hid behind a pillar.
The sound of the gunshots were deafening.
I shot at Curtis, but he rolled behind a couch, returning fire with deadly precision.
"Spread out! Don’t let anyone escape!" Mason shouted.
Celeste was crouched behind a table with a handgun, her hands shaking violently. She fired a shot blindly, nearly hitting Curtis instead of us.
Then a bullet tore across the room from one of the officers.
Celeste scread loudly and there was a hint of desperation in her voice. I looked over and noticed that a bullet struck her in the stomach.
She imdiately dropped the gun and fell to the ground, clutching her abdon as blood poured out from between her fingers.
"No... No... no.. please!" she shrieked, voice breaking. "My baby! Sobody save my baby!"
Mark and Callie heard her cry but instantly ducked behind another pillar and sprinted for the exit door, not even glancing her way.
Piper also ran, abandoning Celeste completely while pushing Zain forward to create a shield for herself.
Celeste scread after them, clawing at the floor. "Callie! Mark! Help ! Please! My baby... my baby... "
But they didn’t even slow down.
Their screams echoed from above as they were held and restrained by the police officers outside.
The shooting below continued, and the entire underground space was becoming hazy with gunpowder.
Curtis killed two officers, cold and precise, then scread in frustration when he realized most of his n were dead or badly injured.
Zain tried firing at , but Kelvin shot him in the shoulder and he fell backward, howling in pain.
"Zain! Get up!" Curtis yelled.
But Zain was too busy clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Christy whimpered in fear, and my chest tightened so hard I thought I might explode.
I locked eyes with her for a few seconds and Curtis noticed.
"If you co any closer, I will kill her!" he shouted, sprinting towards her.
Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed Christy and pulled her up, pressing a gun hard against the side of her head.
"Tell your n to drop their guns!" Curtis yelled, backing toward a hallway behind the underground living room. Zain staggered behind him, clutching his wound, and Piper limped after them.
"Don’t make repeat myself, Kendrick!" Curtis scread. "If anyone moves, she dies!"
Christy’s terrified eyes locked onto mine, silently begging not to let him take her again.
My breathing stopped and my vision blurred with rage.
Curtis smirked when he saw my expression. "Don’t worry... I just need her long enough to get out of here..after that? Maybe I will keep her.. "
"Curtis!" I yelled, my fists shaking uncontrollably.
"Shut up!" he snapped, digging the gun harder into her skull. "Move, and I swear she dies here."
He seed to have finally snapped and also realized that there was no way he could have her, so now he has resulted to wanting to kill her since he couldn’t get her.
Every muscle in my body burned and my instincts scread at to tear him apart.
But Christy was right there and he had a gun to her head.
Mason stepped forward slightly, and Curtis pointed the gun toward him. "I said don’t move!"
Zain pushed Curtis slightly. "We need to go now, we are losing... "
"Shut up!" Curtis barked at him. "Just get to the exit tunnel!"
This wasn’t desperation, I noticed that he was still thinking and planning.
Curtis dragged Christy toward the narrow corridor that likely led to another escape route.
Three of his remaining n were dead while Celeste was bleeding out on the floor, crying and begging God to save her unborn baby.
Mark and Callie had been captured above and Zain was injured while Piper was shaking violently.
Curtis was cornered but still smiling like he had already won.
My voice ca out cold, deadly, and steady.
"Curtis... if you hurt her, I will bury you with my bare hands."
He laughed like a maniac.
"Oh, Kendrick... you will watch walk out with her, and there’s nothing you can do."
Then he stepped backward with Christy, Zain and Piper following behind him, disappearing into the tunnel as the door began to slide shut. My blood turned to ice.
"No!" Kelvin shouted, sprinting forward.
But the heavy steel door slamd shut, sealing Christy away from us.
Sealing her with them... Sealing her with Curtis.
My heart punched against my ribs with so much force that made my vision blur.
Mason touched my shoulder but I pulled away.
This wasn’t over, we must find a way to get them.
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